Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1887-12-08
on APTER VIII.


There are men-and unfortunately they are
not few-upon whom sudden good fortune
produces much the same effect as the most
crushing disappo ntments Under the in
fluence of either of these conditions they lose
for the time being their self-control, and give
way 70 excessive outbursts OF grief or JOY.
To the man who has formed an appetite for
siinulaDts such u state is decidedly danger
! Gus, for ke is apt to rush headlong into the
vortex Of excess Such man was Nat Gar
vim. For two days after he received the
money from MIR. Montbarrie he remained In
the neghborhood OF Niagara Falls endeayor:
ing to accustom himsef to the sudden change
which had taken place in his fortunes, aud
Which had produced In him n nervous excite
Inent amounting almost to delrium On the
| third day he started for New York, and im-
mediately after his arrival there began look
| ing about for vessel whose destination was
| Australia lie found the bark Vixen at one
of the piers on the East River receiving her
cargo, aud learned that she was to sail in
about ten days for Melbourne. He was i'm
patient to get away, and the delay irritated
hm His time hung heavily upon his hands. In
an evil moment he met one of his old associ-
|
just one drink for old times sake" He
hesitated--then accepted. Alas! All Of his
good resolutions were overthrow at that
fatal moment His siumbering appetite for
liquor was aroused. A spell Of wild, reckless
dissipation ensued. His passion for cards re-
turned, and night after night found him In
some one OF the notorious gambling houses OF
the city, deeply eugrossed in the common
game of faro, TO which he appeared insaney
devoted. lis buck was variable. IL he won
one night his winnings were swept from him
| the next In the meantime the Vixen had
sailed, and was nearing the end Of her
VOYAGE.
Months rolled by in this manner. At length
Nat Tell into the rut of il-luck His winnings
Iecame few and light and his losses heavier.
Lower and lower he sank, until he was
obliged To remove into a wretched neighbor-
hood, where, for trifing sum, he obtained a
niseIablv furnished upper room In a rickety
two-story frame house. His landlord, who
was desperate. looking Italian, with rough
featured Irish wife, was not over-particular
as TO either the character or the calling Of his
tenants, with whom he quarrcled almost con-
tinually. Nat had paid hlm months rent in
advance, and as he alwa,s came In late at
night, and went out about noon, when his
landlord was generally ut lunch, he managed
! TO avoid all unpleasant collisions, which con-
stitutcd the one great drawback TO the
Italians success as q lodging-house proprle-
| tor. His affairs had reached this very low
ebb, when one night he staked his last dollar
upon the turn Of the cards, inwardly vowing,
should he lose, to blow his brains out and
thus end his self-made misery But fortune
| favored him--he won. His next effort met
with the same result. Eiated with his sudden
success, he bet eXtravagantly and rccklcssy
but fortune did not desert him. His luck
was phenomenal and when he turned from
the green table an hour later he possessed
| 81, $50 Ia cash. lie had drunk some during
the evening, but was by no means intoxicated.
| 1t was early when he entered the gambling
saloon, and, as he left 1t, he heard the bell In
a cburch-spire striking nine. He stepped In
to the nearest saloon, called for glass of
brandy drank it, and, turning away from the
bar, said to himself:
"Never will another drop OF liquor pass my
lips, and have gambled tonight for the last
time The ship Sea Gull sails for Australia
to morrow, and If | AIN living man ] shall
be aboard of her."
Then he turned into a narrow street and
proceeded I'm the direction Of his home--if
such, indeed, the miserable apartment he
occupied could be called.